Like a phoenix rising from its ashes, Orange County, California's
beleaguered CenterLine light rail transit (LRT) project got a new
resurgence of life on 21 July 2003. After hearing testimony from
75 elected officials, business leaders, and community members
during a five-hour meeting, the Orange County Transportation
Authority (OCTA) Board of Directors voted 9-2 to support a
shortened CenterLine light-rail route between the Depot at Santa
Ana and John Wayne Airport (see map below). This keeps alive
the dream of LRT and a major tool in the efforts to craft a real
solution to future mobility congestion in Orange County.

The 8.5-mile initial operating segment will provide service to John
Wayne Airport, the South Coast Plaza shopping center and
Orange County Performing Arts Center, Mater Dei High School,
the Santa Ana Civic Center, the County Government Center and
Courthouse, the Santa Ana Artists Village, and the Depot at Santa
Ana, where it will connect with Amtrak and Metrolink commuter
trains as well as several OCTA bus routes. While Road Warriors
and pro-automobile NIMBY activists have intensified their efforts
to kill the project, clearly there is also strong support in the county
to keep the dream of an attractive public transport alternative
alive.

"OCTA's decision to proceed with the CenterLine project
represents a major milestone for Orange County" said OCTA
Chairman Tim Keenan. "CenterLine is a crucial link in a balanced
transportation system that will serve Orange County residents for
years to come."

The Board considered a variety of alternatives to CenterLine
during the meeting, including a bus rapid transit system, LRT lines
to western and northern Orange County, increased Metrolink
service, and shifting money to various highway and road projects.
Of the 75 speakers who attended the meeting, nearly two-thirds
voiced support for the CenterLine route between Santa Ana and
John Wayne Airport.

The revised CenterLine route is projected to cost between $900
million and $1 billion to build, and is forecast to carry 15,000 to
20,000 riders per day is its first year of operation. it is expected to
open in 2008.

The following article from the Los Angeles Times provides
background about the CenterLine project and more details of the
recent OCTA decision.

OCTA officials shorten billion-dollar light-rail
system that will connect Costa Mesa to John Wayne Airport and Santa Ana to 8.5 miles.

Lolita HarperDaily Pilot

COSTA MESA – A packed conference room at the Orange County
Transportation Authority headquarters Monday morning proved that
while the length of the proposed CenterLine route continues to shrink,
general interest in the project has not.

The board of directors voted 9 to 2 to proceed with a revised light- rail
route from the transportation depot in Santa Ana, through Costa Mesa's
South Coast Metro area to John Wayne Airport. The decision came after
a five-hour meeting in Orange, where more than 60 people spoke on both sides of the issue.

"To not continue is short-sighted and affects the long-term viability of
transportation in Orange County," Costa Mesa Councilwoman Libby
Cowan said. "We can't just continue to widen freeways, other things have to happen."

The route will be shortened to 8.5 miles and drops the overall price tag
to less than $1 billion, board chairman Tim Keenan said.

The CenterLine project, once envisioned as a 28-mile alternative to the
overcrowded streets and freeways of Orange County, has been revised
and shortened and shortened some more in the past decade. The
previous plan, which failed to garner the support of irvine voters in
June, called for an 11.4-mile light-rail system connecting Santa Ana,
Costa Mesa and irvine. irvine's portion would have included a route
from UC irvine through the irvine Business Complex to John Wayne
Airport. All three cities backed the proposed line, but irvine's support
hinged on a vote of its residents.

Those voters rejected the CenterLine route through their city on June 3,
prompting the transportation authority's board to reexamine the entire
project. Monday, officials considered abandoning the CenterLine
project but approved the shortened route instead.

Keenan said the decision puts all board members "on the same page"
and allows the transportation authority to really [home] in on the
specified 8.5-mile route and consider an expansion to Santa Ana
College, which was cut out because of a lack of funding. Monday's
decision will also help authorities meet tight federal deadlines.

"Well yes, it's a smaller route, but once you have the initial phase, the
next step in the expansion already has cities lining up to be a part,"
Cowan said in a phone interview Monday afternoon.

Irvine's politics are not the only ones to affect light-rail progress. Costa
Mesa made its own waves in the CenterLine discussion months ago
when it pushed heavily for a portion of the railway to go underground.
The idea was costly and unpopular, but city officials stood by what they
believed to be best for South Coast Metro businesses.

Underground. Above ground. Centerline proponents are just working on
getting an acceptable plan off the ground now.

"It just needs to get started," Cowan said. "I think once it is built, people
will find a way to utilize it."

Voters in 1990 approved Measure M, which included a list of projects
to be completed with the one-half cent sales tax increase. The measure,
which includes CenterLine, is very specific as to which projects should
be funded and very detailed in the breakdown, according to a staff
report. Officials have committed to each project and added the widening
of the Garden Grove Freeway to the list. No projects have been
abandoned, according to a staff report.

Lolita Harper writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and
covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or by
e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.